Journey to Solohan
by Northwest Sage
Summary: G1- Megatron sends Starscream on a mission to find the ultimate weapon.


JOURNEY TO SOLOHAN

_Inside Decepticon Headquarters..._

There are very few things that never change. No amount of loss or gain, any passage of time or grand enlightenment could ever alter the way certain things are. Night will always fall and the sun will always rise. Beings will be created and eventually all things fade into the abyss. These are constants in the universe, they are absolute happenings. Another resilient limb of existence is the relationship between Decepticon Commander Megatron and his Aerospace Commander, Starscream.

Forever at odds, these two savage warriors share an unusual bond with each other. One has complete rule, and the other hungers for it. They view each other with hesitant glances, never wanting to lose sight of the other yet wishing the other never be seen again. It was a relationship that greatly hindered their goal of destroying the Autobots and winning the Great War. On the other hand, it could be argued their total disdain for each other kept them forever alert. Heightening their senses and defensive nature, which gave them an advantage on the battlefield. An advantage that cost many Autobots their lives.

Today was no different from any other day. Another disagreement and another challenge to power, a refusal to comply with orders. Business as usual, to quote various humans of the time.

"You heard the order, Starscream." Megatron locked optics with his troublesome soldier and felt his body grow tense. _Doesn't he ever grow tired of defying me?_ "Is there a problem with your legs, you don't seem to be leaving my presence?"

"Solohan!" Starscream yelled. "You want me to go to Solohan and retrieve some super-weapon that may or may not even exist? I won't do it, Megatron! I'm tired of being your lackey!"

Megatron stepped in Starscream's direction and raised his fist. "And I grow tired of repeating myself!" he roared is response. "I don't have to justify anything to you, Starscream. I am the ruler of the Decepticons, and seeing as how you wear the Decepticon insignia, you do as I say!"

"Solohan is a planet full of primitive creatures... a giant rock covered with ants!" He steadied his posture and refused to back down to his merciless leader. "If you want this weapon so badly, you go get it!"

"Enough," Megatron barked. He pushed a nearby button on a wall-control panel and waited briefly. Seconds later, the combiner team known as the Stunticons entered the room, their weapons drawn and aimed directly at Starscream. Stunticon commander Motormaster never took his attention off the rebellious seeker.

"Is there a problem, mighty Megatron?" he asked.

Starscream realized he wasn't going to win this argument, and attempting to do so in the face of several potent weapons would not be beneficial to his future. "No," he growled, noticing an evil smirk on Megatron's face. "No problem. I was just... confirming my orders." Turning to leave, uneasy as the weapons tuned on him remained in firing positions, he called back to Megatron. "I'll have Thundercracker and Skywarp accompany me and..."

Megatron interrupted his reluctant follower. "No."

Stopping in mid-step, Starscream turned and glared at his hated leader. "What?" he asked, annoyed by the obvious display of ego. "Why?"

"Because you wish it!" Megatron answered. "Thrust and Ramjet will go with you. They're waiting in shuttle bay six." He looked at Starscream, taking pleasure in knowing he was both vulnerable and embarrassed. Full of resentment and rage, yet he said nothing more. _He's smarter than I give him credit for being._"Don't just stand their gawking, Starscream. You have a mission to undertake."

_Aboard Shuttle Craft D-6..._

"What's the big deal, anyway?" Thrust asked, while skillfully piloting the ship through space. "Why is Megatron so interested in Solohan? It's worthless, a giant rock covered with ants!"

Starscream took a double take hearing the familiar words. "I know," he agreed. "But we have our orders." Internally, he scolded himself for actually re-enforcing Megatron's instructions. He checked their data and recorded their progress. "We'll be arriving shortly," he announced. Sit us down just outside our destination, I don't want a welcoming party."

Ramjet nudged Starscream from his chair on the left. "Are you worried about running into these 'ants' unprepared?" A deep, metallic laugh filled the compartment. "They don't have much in the way of technology, 'Screamer. I wouldn't worry about it."

Starscream forcefully struck Ramjet across his chest-plate. "You will address me as _Starscream!_ " he corrected. Thrust lost his private battle to suppress a smirk. He rather enjoyed the display of violence. "I don't care how advanced they are or aren't, I take no chances. Is that understood?"

"Understood," Ramjet said, silently plotting retribution for such a brash action.

"Coordinates adjusted," Thrust informed the two-con crew. "Arrival time 23 minutes."

_Solohan..._

With the shuttlecraft secured and well hidden, the Decepticon trio approached Lochtizz, the primary settlement on the planet. Able to scan the area from a hefty distance, they were somewhat amazed at the simplicity of what they saw. Huts made of straw-like material; torches lit to provide light as the two suns completed their descent in the emerald sky. "Savages," Ramjet stated. "If not for their silver-toned skin, I'd swear we were on ancient Earth." He turned his gaze upward, and added to his statement. "That and the green sky." Ramjet shot a curious look at his comrade Thrust. "What could these beings possibly have that's of any value to Megatron?"

Starscream shook his head side to side and tried to remain focused. "I guess we'll just have to go and see for ourselves." With each step taking them closer to Lochtizz, they glanced at their surroundings in the same manner as tourists in New York City. Giant rock structures, easily three times their height, towered over the Seeker clan. Light from the four-moon sky bounced off their smooth exterior, highlighting thousands of reflective crystals in a wonderful display of color.

After a few minutes, they stood in plain sight of Lochtizz. Starscream scanned each hut, twelve in total, and detected nothing of interest. As Thrust and Ramjet began to scare the natives, Starscream headed towards the other side of the village. He stared down at an orange colored stream, complete with exotic life forms only faintly resembling marine life on Earth. A strange tingle slowly began to affect his right hand, causing him to stand and back away curiously. His optics scanned the stream, looking for an explanation for the odd sensation. The results puzzled him momentarily, only to result in the answer sweeping over him. Not only the reason behind his hand tingling but also the reason why they had been sent to Solohan.

"Megatron is a moron!" Starscream roared. He turned his back on the stream, and returned to the center of Lochtizz. Rarely had he been as aggravated and disgusted, his circuits nearly melting due to being flooded with rage. "Ramjet, Thrust," he shouted. "We're leaving this forsaken heap of nothingness. NOW!"

"But, Starscream," Thrust objected. "There's something I think-"

"I said we're leaving!" Starscream repeated. "This so-called 'super weapon' Megatron wanted doesn't exist! Whoever provided him with the initial data was an idiot."  
Ramjet released the native he had been questioning, letting him fall to his death.

"Starscream, I believe there may still be something of use to us."

The irritated commander ignored the words and began rambling, revealing his earlier revelation. "The stream contains Pronite, which is why my hand started to tingle. Pronite acts as a dissolver when in close contact with metal..."

"Uh, Starscream..." Thrust interjected, trying again to explain what he and Ramjet discovered.

"Those 'crystals' we noticed in the rock structures were actually Beenok deposits!" Starscream had now walked past the other Decepticons and was well on his way back to the shuttle. "It was probably Astrotrain who relayed the data, too lazy to come to the planet's surface so he took a scan from space. The energy bursts he detected and misidentified as weapon-fire was actually a natural interaction between elements!" He concluded that during Solohan's frequent dust storms, Beenok particles were carried and fell into the Pronite stream. The reaction of the two elements meeting created a vapor, which when it made contact with Solohan's upper atmosphere, ignited into violent explosions, effectively sending the residue back down to the surface, only to restart the natural process.

Ramjet decided against calling out yet again, so he opted for a more direct and impressive method of getting Starscream's attention. He fired his weapon instead. The blast landed only a few feet from Starscream, who, already in an agitated state, turned and readied himself for battle. "You dare attack me?" Starscream yelled, raising both arms with his null-ray lasers begging to be released. "I'm not in the mood, Ramjet!"

As the two warriors stood frozen, each waiting for the other to lower their weapons, Thrust hurried and stood in between their path. It was a somewhat risky and totally stupid thing to do. But the Fates had his back, as neither Decepticon fired and allowed Thrust an opportunity to explain their discovery. "The native Ramjet was toying with thought we had come from their version of The Pit... or as the humans call it, Hell. He was begging us to take the Toknorri, and spare his village."  
Starscream, slowly feeling the rage fade, nodded for Thrust to continue. Sensing they had gotten Starscream's attention, Ramjet reluctantly lowered his weapon. "Toknorri is sacred to their people, an item of great importance and power."

From the destruction and burning huts, emerged a frantic native screaming and throwing stones at the three robotic terrorists. The words coming from the frightened native were heard, but not understood. "What's that creature shouting?" Starscream asked.

"It's a different dialect from the other one," Thrust replied. "I'll adjust my translator." Starscream and Ramjet waited for an answer. It came a few moments later. "He's saying the one who spoke earlier was a fool, that Toknorri has no power and for us to leave it be and depart!"

Laughter erupted from Starscream, who now resembled more of his usual self. "Well, that settles it. We're taking the Toknorri with us... where is it?" Ramjet noticed the native glance at a particular hut, one that hadn't been burned to the ground. He walked to the hut and tore the roof off of it. There was a single object placed on an altar of sorts, and correctly presumed that was the object of discussion. Starscream watched as Ramjet grabbed the item then ordered the remaining huts and natives to be destroyed. Following the localized carnage, the order to depart was given.

_Leaving Solohan..._

As Thrust once again piloted the ship, this time returning the trio back to Decepticon base, Ramjet and Starscream inspected the Toknorri. It was a clear container, tall and slender, made from an unfamiliar material. A sparkling purple liquid was inside, taking up three-quarters of its space. Strange markings were displayed along its surface, and rough, unpolished gems were arranged along one end. "I wonder why this thing was so important to the Solohans." Ramjet looked at the Toknorri from all different viewpoints, sideways... at an angle... and finally, upside down. "Doesn't look like anything special to me."

"Who cares?" Starscream said. "They didn't want us to take it- so we took it! That's what we do as Decepticons. We take what others want."

Ramjet swiveled his chair and placed the vile in a scanner-placement. "Aren't you the least bit curious as to what Toknorri is, and what these markings are?" A soft blue light wrapped itself around the container and began sending data to the ship?s computer.

Starscream was too busy planning a revenge he knew too well would never be achieved. Still, such thoughts were his way of being, and fueled his legendary self-importance. First, he would savor Megatron's reaction after informing him there was no weapon, and that only a worthless heap of scrap would have thought that in the first place. Then, he'd watch with great anticipation as Megatron reprimanded Astrotrain for the faulty data, probably resulting in a fine display of Decepticon violence.

"Interesting," Ramjet stated, finishing reading the analysis. "An elixir of life," he read aloud. "Toknorri is an energy-based elixir. Whoever consumes it, moments before their initial death, they shall be reborn an even more powerful being. Legend states that the drinker of the substance will receive brief flashes of the future. Primarily, faint details of their death and resurrection."

Thrust, overhearing the report from his pilot's chair, threw out his own take on it. "Sounds like a bunch of slag, if you ask me!"

Starscream took a renewed interest in their souvenir. "Give me that!" he snapped, yanking the Toknorri from the storage rack Ramjet had just previously placed it. "I'll be taking possession of the object for the foreseeable future." Ramjet struggled with an aching desire to snatch the Toknorri back, but in the end let the urge fade away. He reasoned Starscream wasn't worth the effort, and started counting down the seconds until they returned to headquarters.

_Inside Decepticon Headquarters..._

Megatron greeted the arriving squad, with his confidant Soundwave by his side as always. The commander stood ready to receive the weapon, or at the very least- if the weapon was somewhat large- ready to summon others to unload the newly acquired cargo. Seeing Thrust, Ramjet, and finally Starscream exit the shuttle, all of them empty-handed, Megatron demanded an explanation. "Where is the weapon?" he asked. "Starscream, I swear, if you botched yet another mission you'll be melted down to a puddle of ooze!"

"Save your threats, Megatron!" Starscream responded. "There was no weapon. There wasn't anything!" He shoved his way past the disappointed commander and his faithful sidekick. "Nothing but a giant rock covered with ants, like I told you before you sent us on this waste-of-time-mission!"

Thrust looked over at Ramjet, then at Megatron. He raised his right arm slightly, indicating he wished to speak. It wasn't a common gesture on his part, but he sensed the tension in the air and took a cautious approach. "Actually, we did find something, although it isn't a weapon."

Megatron waited for more, but he could tell by the expression Thrust and Ramjet displayed that they weren't in a position to offer more. The commander immediately picked up on their silent shouts and responded in a similar fashion. He shouted out loud. "Starscream!" He turned and saw the treacherous liar stop only a few steps away from the exit. _Close, but not close enough._ "Do you have something for me?"

It appeared a small amount of lubricant began to leak from Starscream's temple-plate. If he had been human, he'd have been sweating. "It's nothing, Megatron," Starscream answered, clearly uncomfortable and caught in one of his countless lies. "Just a little trinket, a primitive piece..."

Megatron silenced his target with an icy glare. He reached out and held his hand open, waiting for whatever object it was Starscream had taken the time and trouble to conceal. Starscream, with all the enthusiasm of a high school student waking for the first day of class, walked over to Megatron and dropped the Toknorri into his palm. "What is this object?"

Starscream was slow to answer, leading Megatron to look towards Ramjet and Thrust for more information. He was skeptical upon hearing what they reported, and was somewhat irritated. "Toknorri?" he mocked. "Nonsense!" He motioned as if he was going to toss it on the ground, shattering the container and contaminating the liquid it held within.

"No!" Starscream cried. "If you don't want it, then give it back! But don't just destroy it!" He stood poised to lunge after the object in the event Megatron did the unthinkable.

"You believe that fairy tale?" Megatron asked, looking at Starscream with disdain. "If it means that much to you, it would be rude of me to destroy it." For a brief moment, for one shard of a second, those in attendance thought the object would actually be returned to Starscream. A gesture of compassion rarely displayed by the stern commander. Truth be told, Soundwave never truly thought Megatron would return the Toknorri, but he was curious as to what his leader would end up doing. An evil grin appeared on Megatron's face, and then he quickly opened the container and downed the liquid it contained.

Soundwave chuckled softly, enjoying the fact he knew his commander better than any other Decepticon. His optics gleefully watched Starscream's stature decay, exiting the room a defeated and dejected being. Thrust and Ramjet were dismissed, trading remarks about the recent events on the way out. The loyal communications expert was slightly disappointed that his leader wasn't more creative in his handling of Starscream, but still found Megatron's actions humorous, no matter how predictable.

He and Megatron shared a mutual laugh. Not a quiet chuckle like Soundwave let out seconds earlier, but rather a deep, powerful laugh that filled the room and crashed against its walls. "Such a feeble intellect," Megatron boasted, referring to Starscream and his belief in the Toknorri. "To believe such drivel. Elixir of life..." he continued. "I almost pity him, Soundwave. He's a paranoid failure; perhaps that's why I keep letting him live."

"Out of pity?" Soundwave asked, the laughter ending.

"Perhaps," Megatron said. "Or perhaps I do it for my own personal amusement!" A sudden sensation erupted from within his body, forcing him down to one knee. His hand grabbed at his torso, the source of the near crippling pain. Soundwave rushed to his leader's side, asking the tortured warrior what was wrong. The outside world was gone from Megatron. He was in the grasp of oblivion, hearing nothing and unable to shake off the burning agony that now swelled inside him.

**His optics flickered, giving the impression he was going off-line. But his inner-eye was seeing many things, both odd and curious scenes. Events Megatron had never experienced before began flashing in his mind. A hand-to-hand struggle with his mortal enemy, Optimus Prime, amidst a crumbling Autobot City... surrounded by war-stained Decepticons in what looked to be Astrotrain's shuttle-mode... and a final, frightening image of a massive horned planet. After a momentary surge in pain, the condition lessened, eventually restoring his body... and his mind, to normalcy.**

Megatron refused aid from his ally, and once again stood tall and proud like the fearsome leader he was known to be. While the pain was completely gone, he could still recall the foreign images. Soundwave looked on with concern. "What happened, are you all right?"

"Meet me in the medical bay," he stated, his tone not yet as strong as his form. "I may have under-estimated Starscream," he confessed, now dealing with his own paranoia. "I want to know if that imbecile poisoned me."

the end.


End file.
